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colorfully creating

October 4th, 2011
by Christine
1 Comment

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, this fall has been a busy one so far with many activities and running around. One of the activities that Aidan has been participating in is a drop-in art class. Last week seemed an especially busy one and the thought of leaving the house by 9am and missing out on spending time with Mike that morning just to get to an art class was really not sitting well with me. So, Aidan and I decided to skip the class, stay home, hang out with Mike, and then when Mike left for work we took time to do our own art projects together. What a blast we had together! We spent almost two hours painting, drawing, reading about famous artists (from Discovering Great Artists), and just having fun. The next day Aidan wanted to do more art so we found a great resource online (called  Art Projects for Kids) and dove into more art projects exploring watercolors and pastels, and trying our hand at copying the greats like Van Gogh, Miro, Klee, and Mondrian.

Aidan loves art and he loves to explore his creative side with all types of art. And I love seeing him creating and exploring. I, too, love art (looking at it, appreciating it, etc.). However, I don’t consider myself creative at all when it comes to making this type of art. I joke that I can’t make myself deviate from the example that I’m looking at–something in me just makes me want to replicate what I see without really putting my own touches on it. I have such a difficult time letting go and just being free with painting or drawing. But, despite my shortcomings with this, I love trying my hand at this type of art. It makes it even more enjoyable when Aidan and I can do this together–sharing, learning, laughing, and creating. Here are photos of some of our recent artwork:

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hello, my name is chris and i have become a soccer mom

September 23rd, 2011
by Christine
2 Comments

This past month seems to have gone by in a blur for me. Part of this blur in due to Aidan’s decision to try a bunch of new activities this fall. So, right now almost every day is booked with something–from gymnastics to robotics and everything in between!

In addition to the variety of classes and clubs, we have also managed to go on a few recent tours. One was at the Romeoville National Weather Station. We all got a look at some of the tools of the trade, along with the computers that they use to track storms. We also learned about what the job of a meteorologist is all about and what it takes to become one.

The other was a tour with an engineering scientist at Fermi Lab where we got to learn about and see the Tevatron accelerator, which has been in use for 26 years. While some of the material was presented in a overly scientific manner, it still was an interesting tour/talk. It’s also pretty cool because we got to see this accelerator before it shuts down (shut down is scheduled at the end of this month).

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“not-so-great expectations” — a comedy of error

September 10th, 2011
by Michael
1 Comment

This came across the desk today, and I had to laugh. We get this quite a bit. So many people just don’t know what to do or what to say to us on matters of learning and education–close friends, family members, and even some homeschoolers we know. It’s tough when you don’t fit the mold. I think some people find you oddly threatening. Needless to say, after the first awkward encounter like the one below, we get very few questions about our approach to learning. I guess the typical questions and comments don’t fit, and people are left with nothing else to say. Funny.

Click the image below to enlarge it and squint your eyes to read the speech balloons. :-)

Not-So-Great Expectations

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